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Land Rover Defender V8, next Range Rover, new BMW M3 share the Nurburgring

From open-track days to 24-hour races, so many events are held on Germany's Nurburgring track that carmakers need to share the tarmac with their rivals to put new models through their paces. Industry pool days are normally closed to the public, but a seven-minute video reveals what Land Rover, BMW, and several others are testing. Posted on YouTube by StatesideSupercars, the video shows prototypes racing around the track in the mid-summer heat. Land Rover's engineers are busy putting the final touches on the V8-powered variant of the new Defender, which our spies have previously spotted testing in its home country of England, and they're developing what looks like the high-performance, SVR-badged version of the next-generation Range Rover due out in 2020. As we reported earlier in 2020, the hot-rodded Defender packs a 5.0-liter V8 between its fenders, though its horsepower and torque outputs remain under wraps. Unverified rumors claim it will arrive as a limited-edition model to avoid sending Land Rover's fleet-wide CO2 emissions through the roof. And, the video confirms chassis engineers have made extensive modifications to the SUV's suspension, partly to keep body roll in check. Walking down the pits, members of BMW's testing team are getting up early to put track miles on an enigmatic variant of the face-lifted M5, and on the next-generation M3. We've already seen the M5 in the metal, so why is it still camouflaged? One possible answer is that we're looking at the rumored CS version, which should receive a 641-horsepower V8 thanks to software tweaks and a better cooling system. The simpler (and more boring) possibility is that BMW isn't quite done testing the M5, and it doesn't want to waste time removing the black and white wrap. Your author regularly spotted i8 prototypes in full camouflage regalia months after its debut. As for the M3, much has already been said about its mammoth grille, which seemingly mirrors the one worn by the new 4 Series. Autoblog drove a pre-production prototype in June and walked away impressed. It receives an evolution of the X3 M's 3.0-liter straight-six turbocharged to 473 horsepower, though selecting the optional Competition package will increase that figure to 503. And, fear not: The six-speed stick is coming back. Land Rover and BMW aren't the only companies playing on the 'Ring.

2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class vs big luxury off-roaders: How they compare on paper

During our first drive of the 2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the all-new SUV's product manager was asked to identify competitors that might have been benchmarked in its development. The look on his face was about the same as if someone had asked him to recite King Lear in Klingon. As far as Andreas Hoeppel was concerned, the G 550 and AMG G 63 doesn't actually have a rival, or at least something the engineers and designers thought to compare it against. The G-Class is a G-Class, who cares what the other guys are doing? Well, in case you care, we figured we'd plug the new G-Class' specs into the old Autoblog Comparo Generator 3000 (TM) to see how the G 550 and AMG G 63 compare to the Range Rover and its mightiest SVAutobiography Dynamic model, plus the Lexus LX 570 and Bentley Bentayga V8. Frankly, Heir Hoeppel was onto something as each of these is wildly different. But, they do share some common elements: giant size and weight, ultra-lux interiors, and far more off-roading capability than other luxury SUVs offer and any of its owners are likely to ever utilize. Sad. So enjoy this trip down specification lane, and if you're still left hungry, you can always check out our Range Rover comparison or create your very own comparo. Off-Road Clearances and Capability All the fancy off-roading software and special cameras in the world won't do you a lick of good if your SUV is too close to the ground or has low-hanging body work that'll get easily ripped off. As such, check out each of these uber-SUV's ground clearance, approach and departure angles, and wading/fording depths. In this case, the Range Rover has an advantage due to its air suspension that can raise itself into an Off-Roading height that's a whopping 2 inches higher than the new G-Wagen. Sadly for itself, Lexus only provides figures for its air suspension when in normal height. It could match or surpass the Range Rover for all we know (but doubt it). As Land Rover does provide figures for the Range Rover's approach and departure angles in normal and Off-Road height, you can get an idea of just how much clearance the new G-Wagen has without any fancy (and expensive to fix) raising and lowering air suspension hardware. In fact, its departure angle is better than even the Range Rover's Off-Road height. Bentley doesn't provide any such information despite touting the Bentayga's surprising off-roading talents.

Automotive Grade Linux will be the backbone of your connected car

Creating a backend for a secure, reliable, and expandable infotainment system is costly and time consuming. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization, has set out to promote and advance the Linux operating system in commercial products. Automotive Grade Linux, or AGL, is a group within the Foundation that seeks to apply a Linux backend to a number of automotive applications in a variety of vehicles from various suppliers and manufacturers. AGL's goal is to create a common, unifying framework that allows developers and manufacturers to easily implement applications across platforms. Currently, the focus is on infotainment systems, but AGL has plans for instrument clusters, heads-up displays, and eventually active safety software. At CES, a display from Panasonic showed a completely digital and customizable dashboard that allows information and apps to be moved from the gauge cluster to the infotainment screen and back, all through the use of gesture and touch controls. Although the organization has been around for five years, it's really only been in the past three that the group has been working hand in hand with automakers and suppliers. The first two OEMs to participate, Toyota and Jaguar Land Rover, have since been joined by Mazda, Suzuki, Ford, and, as of this week, Daimler. The latter is important as until now most of AGL's partner's have been based in Japan or the US. Other partners include suppliers Denso, Renesas, Continental, Qualcomm, and Intel. AGL want's to supply roughly 80 percent of the backend, allowing partners to then finish and refine the Linux system for each individual application. Think of how the Android operating system is refined and customized for individual smartphones from Samsung, LG, and Motorola. While the final product looks different, developers can have an application that will work across all AGL systems. Because it is open source, anyone can use and develop for AGL. You can even go onto the group's website and download a copy right now. There is also a software development kit available that helps facilitate app creation on the platform. Vehicle development cycles take roughly five years, so there currently are no cars that run an AGL backbone available for consumers. AGL Executive Director Dan Cauchy says products should be hitting the market later this year, with even more coming in 2018. Right now, the industry is relatively fragmented when it comes to infotainment and related systems.